Misusing the Gartner Reports

The recent release of the Gartner UC magic quadrant reminded me of how some IT decision makers fail to make proper use of the information. Although many consultants and analysts may disagree with various opinions and conclusions found in a Gartner report, generally they are well researched and the source data is accurate. The mistake made by otherwise smart readers is glancing at the quadrant chart and allowing a snapshot to guide procurement decisions.

Although frequently the firms given the most serious consideration by my clients fall into the Gartner leaders' quadrant, it is because of the appeal of the individual strengths of those manufacturers rather than a shortcut. In fact, in reading the full Gartner report, you can find many reasons why the strengths of even a "niche" vendor can align with the business needs.

However, I have also seen a few abuses of the Gartner report. One public-sector client (where bids are supposed to be welcome from all qualified vendors) wanted to make the leaders quadrant a minimum requirement. Another non-global client insisted that the world-wide report was a better fit than the North American version because it showed his preferred vendor in a more favorable position in the chart.

A couple of years ago, one of our clients went through a very thorough RFP, evaluation, and presentation process to select a specific solution. The client's evaluation committee submitted a very well-supported justification for its recommendation, but the CIO stated that because the selected vendor was not in the Gartner magic quadrant, he would not endorse it. Despite the preference of the business representatives, he pushed the committee to consider (only) two other systems because they were better positioned in the Gartner magic quadrant. He even mentioned that he only wanted to recommend a system preferred by the majority of his peers in his industry. The committee ended up following this directive despite the fact that the final system selected was not as good of a technical fit and cost almost twice as much.

The other variable never covered in the Gartner review of UC manufacturers is the tremendous difference the service provider or value added reseller will make. Even the leaders' systems will underperform if the VAR does a poor job.

Gartner will tell clients that the quadrant reports should not be the sole basis for a decision. To get the real value out of the report, it is necessary to first read the entire report. Close attention should be paid to the weaknesses / negatives, but consider if those issues are critical. The next step is for the client to recognize how and if the factual elements apply to their specific situation, rather than assuming that Gartner's general opinions are automatically applicable.

Also on UCStrategies.com on this topic:

• Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications 2016 - Raising Questions about UC!, by Marty Parker